Katie
by CallMeMadamSecretary
Summary: When tragedy strikes, Elizabeth's niece comes to live with the McCord family.
1. Chapter 1

" _Did you say it? 'I love you. I don't ever want to live without you. You changed my life.' Did you say it? Make a plan. Set a goal. Work toward it, but every now and then, look around; Drink it in, cause this is it. It might all be gone tomorrow."_

 _-Meredith Grey_

Katie Adams was a blonde haired, blue eyed bombshell with all the guys after her. She was often told that she looked like her aunt, Elizabeth McCord. When she was little she was her aunt's little sidekick. They did everything together and even after her aunt started having her own kids they still remained close. She figured her aunt took her under her wing because her mother, Elizabeth's sister, was the black sheep of the family and she never really knew her father. Her mom and aunt stopped talking several years ago when they got into a fight over something neither of them would speak about. Even though her mom and aunt did not speak anymore she still tried to keep in touch with her aunt as much as possible. Katie even went to the University of Virginia since her aunt was a professor there. It wasn't until her aunt became Secretary of State that they started to lose touch. They still talked here and there on the phone but she hadn't seen her in almost a year. She was busy with finishing grad school and her aunt was busy with her new job. She would have never thought in a million years she would end up crying on her aunt's porch on a cold December night.

Elizabeth sat on the couch with Henry, watching the local news. It was such a luxury these days for her to have any time to lay around the house and she was enjoying every second of it. When she saw the head of her security detail walk into the living room she sighed heavily and looked up at him, "What is it?" She asked, annoyed that something had obviously come up.

"Ma'am we have a girl outside named Katie Adams asking to see you." Frank informed her and Elizabeth looked at him confused. "Are you sure?" She hadn't seen her niece in over a year so she had no idea why she would be here at eleven o'clock on a weeknight.

"Yes ma'am. We checked her credentials and she checks out." Elizabeth nodded and got up, starting to walk to the front door with Henry close behind.

When she opened the door she saw her niece pacing back and forth with tears running down her cheeks, "Katie? What are you doing here?" She asked the clearly distraught girl.

Katie looked up at her aunt and bit her lip, "Mom died." She choked out before throwing herself into her aunt's arms.

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she wrapped her arms around her niece tightly, a thousand thoughts running through her head. She swallowed the large lump that was forming in her throat, trying to hold it together for her niece.

Elizabeth pulled back once Katie seemed to calm down and looked at her, "Can you tell me what happened?" She couldn't even think right now and it wasn't registering that her only sibling was dead.

Henry led them both into the living room and sat in the chair across from them, completely in shock. Katie cleared her throat and shook her head, "Mom collapsed at work today and apparently she had some kind of heart condition that she never knew about. It was um…it was too late when they found her." She sniffled and kept her eyes on her aunts.

Elizabeth ran her hand over the side of her niece's face and could feel fresh tears spring to her eyes, "Oh honey, I'm sorry." She managed to get out before wrapping her arms around her again.

Katie wrapped her arms back around her aunt, crying against her shoulder. She had nowhere else to go. They were the only family she had left. She had no siblings, didn't know much about her father, and her grandparents had died when she was younger.

Elizabeth held the girl close to her, not really processing what had happened. Could her sister actually be dead or was this some kind of nightmare? Right now she couldn't worry too much about her own feelings, she needed to take care of her niece.

She looked at Katie as she pulled back, wiping her tear stained cheeks "Can I stay here? I have nowhere else to go besides home and I don't want to be alone." She said softly, keeping a tight grip on hers aunt's hands.

"Of course sweetie. The kids are sleeping but I'm sure Stevie wouldn't mind if you stayed in her room. I'll set up the pull-out for tonight and then tomorrow we can figure everything out." She said, running her hand through the blonde's hair. It always struck her as odd that Katie seemed to look more like her then her own children did. She figured that's why they had always been close. Katie was kind of her mini-me.

Katie nodded and smiled a little at her, "Thanks."

"No problem." Elizabeth said as she stood up, making her way to the closet to gather the bedding for the pull-out.

Henry kissed the top of Katie's head before following his wife to the closet, running his hand over her back. He reached above her to grab the bedding and looked at her, "Why don't you go lay down or hang out with Katie I can do this."

Elizabeth nodded and walked back out to Katie, "Get some sleep and we can talk about what needs to happen tomorrow. I know it's been a rough day for you."

Katie nodded and stood up to hug her aunt, "Ok. I love you."

"I love you too Katie." Elizabeth whispered before making her way upstairs.

Henry set up the pull-out quickly, giving Katie a quick hug "Thanks Uncle Henry."

"No problem. Try and get some sleep." He said, rubbing her arm gently before making his way upstairs. He knew that Elizabeth was really going to struggle with this especially after all she had gone through this year. He just hoped that she didn't shut everyone out and pretend like she didn't have feelings like she usually did.

Henry sighed when he walked into a dark bedroom with Elizabeth already in bed, facing away from him. That hope was short lived. He moved around in the dark and threw on a pair of boxers quickly before climbing into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her. "I know you can't be sleeping." He said as he reached for her hand, threading their fingers together.

"I'm not." She said flatly, squeezing his fingers tightly.

Henry sighed and moved his head to her pillow, staying silent for a few minutes. "Baby, your sister just died. Do you want to talk to me?" He whispered, staying close to her.

Elizabeth bit her lip and closed her eyes as a few tears managed to make their way down her face, "I know that and no I don't." She said in the same tone she used before with him. She knew that she shouldn't be angry with him, she was placing the anger that she had with herself onto him. It wasn't fair but right now she didn't care.

"Ok." He said softly, keeping his hand in hers. He could tell by the way that she was grasping his hand that she was probably crying but he didn't want to push her. He knew his wife and she would just get angrier if he forced her to cry or talk to him.

After laying there for an hour with Elizabeth, he sat up and looked at her. "I'm going to bring Katie up here. I think you two need each other. I'll stay downstairs." He said and Elizabeth nodded. As he left the room she wiped at her eyes quickly, not wanting to make Katie more upset.

Katie made her way up to where he aunt was and climbed into bed with her, "Uncle Henry didn't have to do that. I was fine downstairs." She said as she snuggled against her aunt.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her and kissed the side of her head gently, "He said we needed each other and I think he's right."

Katie nodded and rested her head on her shoulder, sighing softly "She still loved you."

Elizabeth closed her eyes and nodded, "I know. I loved her too."

"Look, I don't know what happened between you guys and frankly I don't want to. She was my mom and you know you're my hero but I would have chosen her side no matter what. She was my everything. No matter what she did in life I would have taken her side. I'm just sorry that our relationship suffered because of that." She confessed, feeling guilty that she hadn't seen her aunt or cousins in a year.

Elizabeth shook her head and pulled back to look at her, "Hey, you're only 25. I'm the adult here. I should have made the effort to come see you or have you over for a weekend here and there. I think about you every day and I should have been the one to make sure you were still a part of my life. You are but it's not the same as it used to be and I missed that. So I'm the one that should be sorry."

Katie laughed a little and smirked at her, "Well now you're stuck with me."

"I am and I know the situation sucks but I am glad that you're here." Elizabeth said honestly, wrapping her arms back around her niece. In the coming days, weeks, and even years they would need each other. No one would understand their loss like they did. Not even Henry.

"I'll tell the kids tomorrow." Elizabeth said and Katie closed her eyes, "Ok. Thank you."

Elizabeth looked down at Katie who had started to drift off and she was thankful. She needed sleep because the next week was going to be rough for everyone. Elizabeth closed her own eyes, hoping sleep would come over her too.

Henry woke up early the next morning to his three children whispering above him, "Someone's in the dog house." Jason said, smirking down at his father.

"I wonder what he did." Alison piped in, only seeing her father sleep on the couch a handful of times.

"You know mom could have done something too." Stevie said, rolling her eyes. It wasn't always her father who did something.

Henry opened his eyes and glared at them, "No one is in trouble." He said with a yawn as he sat up, running his hands through his hair.

"Sit, we need to have a talk." He said, looking up at his kids.

By the look on his face the kids could tell that he was serious so they obeyed and did what their father said, sitting on the couch across from him.

"There is no easy way to say this but Aunt Suzie died. Katie came here last night and broke the news to us. She didn't have anywhere else to go and she's sleeping upstairs in our room now." Henry told them gently.

"Oh god…" Stevie whispered, placing her heads in her hands as she started to cry. She had been super close to Katie and her Aunt Suzie when she was younger and she couldn't believe this was happening now. She hadn't seen them in forever due to some fight that just seemed stupid now.

Alison and Jason looked over at Stevie before wrapping their arms around her. They were pretty young when their mom and their aunt had gotten into a fight so they didn't remember her very well. They did see Katie more often though and they loved her like she was one of them. They just all felt terrible for her.

"It's going to be ok guys." Henry said, moving to wrap his arms around his children. "Let's go make some breakfast for Katie and mom."

The kids nodded and followed him into the kitchen, they would do anything to help take away some of the pain that their cousin and mom were most likely feeling.

Katie tossed around a little before shooting up out of bed, breathing heavily. She couldn't remember where she was for a second before realizing that she was in her aunts' bed.

Elizabeth looked at her and ran her hand over her back, "Hey, you're ok. Just breathe." She said, continuing to rub small circles on her back. She had been involved in her own fair share of panic attacks over the course of this year so she picked up a few tips on how to treat them.

Katie nodded and closed her eyes as her breathing evened out, "Sorry. I just forgot where I was."

"It's ok. I've been there." She said, getting out of bed. "Let's go downstairs, I smell food."

Katie followed her aunt downstairs, smiling a little when she saw her cousins. They were the one bright spot in this whole mess.

Stevie ran over to her crying and wrapped her arms around her, not able to control herself. Katie was her best friend when they were younger and she missed her dearly. This was the last thing she wanted. Both girls kept their arms around each other as tears continued to fall down their cheeks. "I'm so sorry." Stevie whispered against her cousin and Katie nodded, "Me too."

Elizabeth sighed and went over to Henry, wrapping her arms around him. This was going to be harder then she imagined.

 _A/N: So I got this story up faster than I had anticipated! I've had this idea rolling around in my head for a while but wanted to wait until I finished my last story. Also I hope you don't mind the Grey's Anatomy quote, I just love it! Anyway, please review so I know if you like this story._


	2. Chapter 2

Katie had been standing for what felt like an eternity, looking at her mother's casket in front of her. She couldn't bring herself to leave even though she knew she needed to. She had watched her cousins and uncle say their final goodbyes, knowing that she couldn't do that. How could she say goodbye to her mom?

Elizabeth had her hand on Katie's back and drew small circles on it. She had no idea how to comfort her. She had tried her best all week along with the kids and Henry but Katie just always seemed so alone and sad. At least she had Henry and he was great as always, she just couldn't allow herself to fall apart. She didn't think Katie could take that.

After a few more minutes Elizabeth placed her hand on her arm and pulled gently, "Honey I think we should go."

Katie took a deep breath and sniffled softly, "Just a few more minutes."

Elizabeth rubbed her arm gently and pulled her closer to her, "It's just going to get harder the longer we wait."

Katie contemplated her aunt's words for a few seconds before nodding, "You're right."

She took her aunt's hand and threaded their fingers together, walking up to the casket with her. She leaned down to the casket and kissed it, whispering "I love you." before placing a rose on the casket. She walked away, leaving her aunt to say her final goodbye.

Elizabeth watched as Katie walked away and placed the rose she was holding on the casket before leaning down to kiss it gently. "I'm sorry." She choked out, wiping the tears that had made their way down her cheeks. She sniffled and managed to get herself together before walking back over to Katie.

She found her niece hunched over, sobbing against one of the trees in the cemetery and walked over to her. She wrapped her arms around her and started walking back to the limo, keeping a tight grip around her.

Henry was waiting in silence with the kids when he saw Elizabeth and Katie starting to make their way back to the limo. He got out and helped them both in, "We're headed back to the house." He told the driver, watching as Elizabeth continued to comfort Katie. The kids just sat in silence, keeping their heads down. They didn't know how to deal with this and that was ok. No one really knew how to deal with these things.

* * *

Katie had managed to calm down by the time they got to the house. She rolled her eyes when she saw how many cars were outside, dreading the dinner that they were about to have. Why was there always a "party" after a funeral? It seemed like people only went to those things to get free food and act like they cared when in reality they probably didn't even know the person that well.

Katie followed her family out of the car and into the house where her aunt lived. It was pretty much her new home now until she could find a job and get settled. When she walked in she sighed softly, seeing all of those people looking at her with pity was just too much for her.

"Aunt Bess…" Katie spoke softly, looking at her aunt "I'm going to go hang out upstairs for a bit."

"Are you ok?" She asked, watching as her niece nodded to her.

"I just want to be alone for a little." Katie said before making her way upstairs to the room she now shared with Stevie.

Elizabeth crinkled her forehead, knowing that her niece was not ok but deciding to give her space. She started walking around to greet all of their guests, most of them were people she worked with or her friends from the CIA.

Katie flopped on her bed in Stevie's room and stared up at the ceiling. She was really not in the mood to speak to anyone today, including her aunt. She just wanted to be left alone.

Stevie walked up to her bedroom about an hour after Katie did and opened the door slowly. She noticed that Katie was getting dressed and looked like she was going out for the night. Stevie entered the room and closed the door behind her, "Going somewhere?"

Katie turned around startled and laughed a little when she noticed it was Stevie, "You know you sound like your mother sometimes right?"

Stevie rolled her eyes and sat down on her bed, "Where are you going?"

"Out." Katie said flatly, fixing her makeup and long curly hair in the mirror.

"Tell me where you're going or I'm not going to cover for you." Stevie fired back, knowing that she would cover for her cousin no matter what.

Katie sighed and slipped on her leather jacket, turning around to face her cousin "I was seeing a guy back home before this all happened. We're just meeting for a couple of drinks. I know your mom will never let me go so hopefully I can be back before she notices."

Stevie nodded and shook her head, "Ok but don't stay out to long. You know my mom and you know she'll be up here in a few hours if she doesn't see you soon. I'll just tell you're sleeping."

Stevie had a feeling that this was going to backfire on the both of them but she felt bad for her cousin and wanted her to be able to grieve however she wanted.

"Come down in a few seconds, I'll distract my parents and you can sneak out that back door." Stevie said softly as she walked out of the bedroom.

Katie smirked and sprayed some perfume on herself before making her way downstairs slowly. She nodded at a few people on her way out, looking over at Stevie who was deep in conversation with her parents. She made her way past them quietly before locking eyes with Alison in the kitchen. Katie put her finger up to her mouth and shook her head before making her way out of the backdoor quickly.

Alison narrowed her eyes in confusion as Katie walked out, looking over at Stevie when she walked in. "Does mom know Katie is going out?" She asked her older sister, knowing the answer already.

Stevie shook her head and groaned a little, "No, just pretend you didn't see her."

"Stevie if mom finds-"

"She won't find out if you keep your mouth shut." Stevie snapped at her sister.

"Fine." Alison said before making her way to the living room, sitting next to her dad on the couch.

Stevie ran her hands over her face quickly and started cleaning the kitchen. She felt bad for snapping at her sister and was starting to regret covering for her cousin. She knew if her parents found out then she was dead meat.

* * *

Once the last of their guests cleared out, Elizabeth noticed that Katie still hadn't come back downstairs. She walked into the kitchen and smiled when she saw the kids and Henry eating ice cream around the counter.

She ran her hand over Henry's hair and leaned against him, "Has anyone seen Katie recently?"

Stevie swallowed hard and her eyes widened a little, looking at Alison "The last time I checked she was sleeping. She said something about her head hurting."

"Maybe I should bring her up some water and aspirin then." Elizabeth said, making her way to the refrigerator.

Stevie shook her head and looked at her mom, "No…it's ok. She probably just wants to sleep." She said quickly, trying to ignore the look her dad gave her.

Elizabeth looked at Henry and pursed her lips before making her way to the staircase, "If my suspicions are correct your cousin is not going to be in your room and when I get down here you're going to have some explaining to do. So why don't you just save me the trip and tell me the truth…now."

Stevie blinked a few times and went over to the table to sit down, "Fine." She knew that her mom could read the whole family like a book and always knew it was a mistake to try and get one over on her.

Elizabeth went over to the table and sat across from Stevie, folding her hands "You two go upstairs." She said to her youngest, watching as they nodded. Alison looked at Stevie and shrugged before making her way upstairs. She knew this wouldn't turn out well. They learned at a young age not to try and hide things from their parents.

Henry sat next to Elizabeth at the table and ran his hand over her back, "Start talking…"

"It's really no big deal. She said she was meeting this guy she was dating from back home and she would be back soon. I felt bad for her and thought that we should let her grieve the way she wanted too." Stevie reasoned, hoping her parents would just take that as her answer.

"And you really bought that?" Elizabeth asked. "If I know Katie, right now she is at some club with some friends, getting wasted."

Henry nodded and leaned forward a little, "Your cousin is smart but she's a bit wild. We used to see her at school hungover the majority of the week."

Before they could say anything else the backdoor flew open and Katie staggered in, "Well look what we have here…" She slurred, making her way over to the table "Did all of your friends leave?" She asked with mock sadness, looking at her aunt.

Stevie sighed a little and stood up, facing her cousin "Hey leave her alone, she lost her sister too." Stevie felt like she had to do something since this was partially her fault.

Katie laughed a little and rolled her eyes, going over to the refrigerator, "She didn't care about her." She said bitterly, glaring at her aunt as she threw the door open.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrow at her niece and stood up from the table, "Stevie go to bed." She said as she kept her eyes on Katie.

Stevie started to protest before feeling her dad's hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. She nodded and made her way upstairs, "This is going to be bad." She mumbled to herself, closing her bedroom door.

Elizabeth walked over to where her niece was and slammed the door to the refrigerator, crossing her arms "You need to remember that you are in my house little girl and whether you are drunk or not will show me respect."

Katie crossed her arms and stood toe to toe with her aunt, she always became brave when she had some alcohol in her. Under any other circumstance she would never speak to her aunt in this way.

Henry watched as the two woman stared each other down and moved to pull Elizabeth back, "Come on. Let's talk about this is the morning."

Elizabeth pulled away from him and looked over her shoulder, "Don't touch me." She knew that he wasn't a part of any of this but the last week was starting to catch up to her and she was about to snap on everyone.

"Fine." Henry said, throwing up his hands as he made his way upstairs. They needed to fight this out themselves.

Elizabeth looked at her niece and shook her head, "If you really think that I didn't care about your mom then you don't know me at all." She said softly, her hard exterior starting to fade a bit.

Katie laughed bitterly, "I don't have time for this." She said, starting to walk away.

"I don't think so." Elizabeth said, grabbing her arm gently "You do not get to walk away."

"Ok, if this is what you want…" Katie started, standing in front of her aunt again.

Elizabeth placed her hands on her nieces shoulders, "Before you say anything else…I want you to think about it. You don't know what happened between your mother and I and I don't want you to regret what's about to come out of your mouth."

Katie sighed and blinked a few times, still drunk "I do know. I heard the whole argument from the living room that night." She said, feeling her eyes well up "My mom would have done anything for you and when she needed you the most you abandoned her! So don't stand here and act like the grieving sister. What you're feeling right now is guilt…and you deserve it." She said through gritted teeth, pulling out a letter from her purse "I found this in her desk, I guess she decided not to send it." She pushed the envelope against her aunt's chest roughly before making her way upstairs.

Elizabeth clenched the envelope in her hand and kept it against her chest. She looked down and took in a deep breath, feeling her bottom lip quiver. She sniffled and blinked back a few tears, wiping off the one's that had made their way down her face.

She stood there for a few more seconds, trying to get herself together before making her way up the stairs. She got to her bedroom and opened the door with a shaky hand, closing it behind her. Suddenly, her chest felt like it was getting tighter and she looked up at Henry who was sitting up in bed.

She started gasping for air and leaned back against the door, keeping her hand on the envelope and her chest. "Henry…I can't... I can't breathe." She managed to get out before feeling Henry's hands on her shoulders.

"Baby look at me…" He said softly, lowering his eyes to hers. She looked into his eyes, still struggling to find her breath. "Just try and focus on taking deep breaths." He said, breathing with her to hopefully try and calm her down. After a minute or so he heard her breathing slow and he ran his hand over her cheek before wrapping his arms around her. He figured she needed a hug after today and whatever just happened downstairs.

Elizabeth accepted the hug and wrapped her arms back around him, still holding onto the letter tightly. It was the last part of her sister she had and she didn't know if she was ready to face what was written on it. Katie was right, she did feel guilty and she probably would for the rest of her life.

She buried her face against Henry's chest and finally let go of all the emotions she had been holding in all day. She grabbed onto his shirt and tried to muffle the sounds of her sobs, not wanting to wake the kids. She continued to cry against him and could feel her legs start to give out.

Henry felt Elizabeth staring to slip from his grip and moved her over to the bed, pulling her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms back around her and kissed her forehead, letting her cry for as long as she needed to. He rested his cheek on her head and felt a tear slip down his cheek as he felt her body wracked with sobs. He hated seeing her like this and it always broke his heart whenever she was this upset.

Henry cleared his throat and rubbed her back gently, "Just let it out."


	3. Chapter 3

Elizabeth groaned softly before burying her head under her pillow, the sun filtering through the blinds of their bedroom. She wasn't exactly sure when she fell asleep last night and she couldn't remember when she stopped crying. She ran her hand over Henry's arm that stayed across her stomach, not moving all night. He would never truly know how grateful she was for him. She rolled over onto her side so she was facing him, nuzzling her face against his chest.

She wrapped her arms around him when she started to feel him stir, "Good morning gorgeous." He whispered, tightening his grip around her as he started to wake up.

"Good morning." She whispered back, keeping herself pressed against him.

"Are you feeling any better?" He asked, running his hands over her back. He was afraid that she would wake up crying again after the night she had.

She nodded and swallowed a little, "Just a headache."

He nodded and slid out of bed, heading to the bathroom. When he returned he had a glass of water and two aspirin for her.

She sat up against the headboard and smiled a little at him, "Thank you." She said softly, accepting the water and medicine.

He sat next to her against the headboard and wrapped his arm around her, squeezing her shoulder gently. He knew that today was going to be an equally rough day for her since she had to deal with Katie and her behavior from last night.

Elizabeth rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to forget about what happened last night. Did her niece really hate her that much? Could she bring herself to read the letter her sister wrote her? So many thoughts were running through her head right now and it was only 9 o'clock.

Henry could sense that Elizabeth was already stressed out and he leaned down to kiss her cheek, whispering "I love you."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, kissing his shoulder "At least someone does."

He rested his chin on her head and sighed softly, "Your children love you and your niece does too. It's just a difficult time right now and everyone is dealing with the situation differently."

Elizabeth closed her eyes again and bit her lip, fighting the urge to start crying again. This time it was because she was angry. She was angry at her sister for leaving, she was angry because her family was so hurt, and she was angry at herself because she felt like all of this hurt was because of her. She had already lost so many people this year and that weighed heavily on her shoulders.

She nuzzled her face against Henry's chest and sniffled, trying to muffle her soft sobs. She felt Henry tighten his grip on her and knew that her attempts at hiding it failed, they always did.

Henry kissed the top of her head gently and pulled her closer to him, running his hand over her back gently.

"I'm so mad…" Elizabeth whispered against him, knowing that he was the only person who would understand her feelings.

"About what?" He asked.

"Everything…" She whimpered, wiping her eyes and looking up at him "I'm mad at my sister for leaving Katie, I'm mad that this has hurt our family, and I'm especially mad at…" She shook her head and looked down, "I'm especially mad at myself. So many people have died this year Henry and I'm the common denominator." She wiped her eyes and sighed, "I know it sounds crazy."

"It doesn't. It sounds like my wife. The person who will take blame for everything and anything even if she had nothing to do with the situation." Henry ran his thumbs over her cheeks, "What you are feeling is normal and it's ok."

Elizabeth nodded and looked up at him again, "Thank you." She leaned in to kiss him gently and groaned as she pulled back, flopping back on the bed. "Can I just stay in here and hide from my problems all day?"

Henry laughed a little and looked down at her, hovering his body slightly over hers "You could… but then you would just have to deal with it tomorrow. I think it's better to get everything over with today." He leaned down to kiss her gently and smiled when he felt her arms wrap around his neck. Hopefully after today they could all resume their normal life.

Katie groaned and pulled the covers over her face, the sunlight making the headache she had even worse. How much did she drink last night and what happened? These were the questions running through her head since she could only remember certain things about the night before. She remembered meeting up with some friends, seeing the guy she was dating, dancing, drinking, and screaming at her aunt. The specific details of everything was a blur though.

"Good morning sunshine." Stevie smirked from her bed, looking at her clearly hungover cousin. "How are you feeling?" She asked in a perky voice, knowing that it would annoy Katie.

Katie snaked her arm from under the covers and flipped off her cousin, "Not funny."

"You deserve it after what you said to mom last night." Stevie loved her cousin but would stick up for her mom no matter what, even if they disagreed on things. She could hear everything that her cousin had said from her bedroom, she was a loud drunk. "Plus I'm going to get punished for covering for you."

Katie threw the covers off her face and looked over at Stevie, "What did I say to Aunt Bess?" She asked, knowing they had argued but wasn't sure what exactly was said.

"Are you serious?" Stevie asked, "You went in on her about your mom."

Katie sighed and closed her eyes, "Well then I am sure whatever I said wasn't nice."

"Not at all. You need to talk to her if you want to save your relationship." Stevie warned her, hoping that they could mend their relationship with each other.

"It smells like dad is making breakfast so I'm heading downstairs." Stevie jumped up from her bed, leaving Katie behind.

"Good job drunk ass." She mumbled into the pillow, peeling herself from under the covers.

After freshening up a bit and taking something for her headache she moved downstairs, watching from the doorway as her family ate breakfast at the table. They all seemed in good spirits and she was afraid she would ruin their moment. She moved to go sit in the living room, grabbing the newspaper. The last thing she wanted was to hurt her family and her aunt again.

Elizabeth walked into the living room after breakfast and plopped down on the couch next to Katie, crossing her arms. Katie looked over at her aunt slowly and put the newspaper down, sitting back against the couch.

"I would say that I'm sorry but I don't remember what I said last night. According to Stevie it wasn't good." Katie said, turning to look at her aunt.

Elizabeth nodded and looked straight ahead, deciding what route she should take with this conversation "Well for starters you told me that I didn't care about your mom, that I had no right to grieve her, I abandoned her, and that I should feel guilty about everything." She said, feeling her eyes well up a bit. "Do you know how much that hurt me Katie?" She said, wiping under her eyes "I loved her and I love you. I don't want to think that you both hated me. I feel terrible for the way things ended with your mom and I have to live with that for the rest of my life." She said to her niece, trying to hold back her tears. She cleared her throat and stood up, "But if you ever talk to me like that in my house again, drunk or not, you will not be staying here…got it?"

Katie looked down and bit her lip, trying to fight back her own tears "Got it."

Elizabeth looked at her niece and instantly softened, she understood why she lashed out but refused to be disrespected by her.

She sat back down on the couch and wrapped her arms around her niece, kissing the side of her head as she started to cry against her chest "I'm sorry." Katie mumbled, hoping that her aunt knew how much she truly loved her.

"I know." Elizabeth whispered and stroked her hair gently, pulling back to wipe Katie's cheeks when her tears subsided. "Let me take care of a few things around the house and then we'll head to the park." She said, patting her niece on the knee before she got up.

Katie nodded and reached for a tissue, blowing her nose quickly. She made her way upstairs and to Stevie's room, getting changed for the day. She did her hair and makeup quickly, making her way back downstairs to where her cousins were.

"I'm sorry that you're in trouble because of me." She said, wrapping her arms around Stevie from behind tightly. "When you turn 21 I'll pay for everything." She smirked, poking her cousin in the side.

"Oh great, then I'll be punished until the end of time." Stevie turned around and hugged her cousin, "But it's ok. I didn't have to cover for you." She rolled her eyes when she saw her cousin, pulling back "Seriously, you're just going to the park with mom and you look like a supermodel. Why couldn't I inherit those genes?"

Katie laughed a little and shook her head, "The whole McCord clan looks like some creepily perfect family that you see in the magazine. You look just fine."

"And here comes the head of the McCord clan as we speak." Stevie teased, pointing at her parents as they came down the stairs.

Katie laughed a little and leaned over the island in the kitchen, catching the glare that her uncle was giving her. She guessed that he still didn't forgive her for the night before and she didn't blame him. She was a real bitch.

There was a quick knock on the back door and everyone looked before Blake walked in with a stack full of papers for Elizabeth.

"Hey Blake." Elizabeth said, walking over to him.

"These are your briefs for next week. Everyone is excited to have you back." He smiled at her, handing her the stack of papers.

Katie kept her eyes glued on the tall man. He was attractive but in a weird way. Not the typical bad boy she was usually into but she could totally date him or at least sleep with him.

"Hi. I don't think we met yet. My name is Katie, Katie Adams." She smirked, walking over to him and shaking his hand.

"Ah, the secretary's niece. Pleasure to meet you." He said, nodding at her.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and pulled Katie away, "We have a date remember?"

Katie groaned and nodded, "See you around Blake." She smirked before glaring at her aunt as Elizabeth led her outside.

"That was rude. You didn't let me get my game on. It's been rusty." She said, elbowing her aunt in the side.

"You're not allowed to date Blake. I like him too much." She teased, walking down the street with her detail in tow.

Katie placed a hand against her chest and looked at her aunt with mock surprise, "I'm not some type of man eater. I just date a lot."

"And what happened to the guy you met up with last night?" She asked, walking into the entrance of the park.

"Point taken." Katie laughed, looking over to her aunt.

There was silence between them for a few minutes before Elizabeth walked them over to a food stand, "You know I hate breakfast but I pretend to eat it for Uncle Henry. Plus I know you didn't eat yet." Elizabeth said, ordering them each a burger a fries.

Once it was ready she walked over to a bench, starting to eat. Katie followed suite and started nibbling on the fries, "So how much does Uncle Henry hate me right now?" Katie asked, looking over at her.

"He doesn't hate you…"

"Really? Because the way he looked at me this morning says otherwise." Katie widened her eyes, as she continued to eat.

"He's just protective. He knows you didn't mean what you said last night but he doesn't like when I'm hurt. He loves you and will probably be fine when we get back."

Katie nodded and shrugged, "I guess it's nice to have that. I'm a bit jealous actually. Maybe my days of being a man eater are over." She smirked and kept her eyes on her aunt, "I guess we can test it out on Blake."

"Katie! I swear if you hurt that boy I will hurt you." Elizabeth teased, finishing off her fries.

"See! You just assume that I'm going to hurt him, no fair." Katie said, crossing her arms when she finished her food.

Elizabeth shook her head and rolled her eyes, "That's because I know you so well."

Elizabeth sat back on the bench when she was finished eating, looking out at the small pond. "This is nice. Your mom would have liked it." She said, looking over at Katie.

Katie nodded and bit her lip, "She would have."

Elizabeth sighed and turned to face Katie, reaching out to take her hand "I want to talk to you about why your mom and I stopped talking." She said, reaching over with her free hand to tuck Katie's hair behind her ear "Are you ready to hear it?"

Katie swallowed and looked over at Elizabeth nodding, "I'm ready."

Katie only knew of what was said the night the fight happened but never what actually caused the fight. She was interested but was always scared to ask. Now that her mom was gone it seemed like she should know.

Elizabeth cleared her throat and looked at her, "So you know how we always told you that your dad abandoned you guys?"

Katie nodded and blinked a few times, "Yeah."

"Well that wasn't exactly the case. Your dad was very verbally and physically abusive to your mom and your grandpa chased him away right after you were born. We were all scared that he would do something to you. We were all so protective of you. Including your Uncle Henry. We just couldn't imagine you being hurt the way she was." Elizabeth said softly, running her hand over her long hair.

Katie swallowed and looked back to the pond, she wasn't sure if she should be mad or grateful she had been lied to this whole time.

"One day your dad came back in the picture and was trying to contact you and your mom. He promised that he was a changed man and that he would never hurt either of you again. We all knew that was a lie but your mom wanted to believe him so badly. All she wanted was a father figure in your life and even though you had Uncle Henry she didn't think it was the same. So when your mom told me that she was going to let your father back into your lives I blew up on her. That's probably the part that you remember. I told her that if she let him back into your life I would make it my mission to get custody of you. Maybe that wasn't the best way to go about it but at the time I wasn't thinking. Your mom promised to not have contact with him but decided that she wasn't going to have contact with me either. I didn't want it that way but I understand why she decided to stop talking to me. I threatened to take you away from her. The best thing she got out of life." Elizabeth sighed and shook her head, "And now I have to live with the fact that I never tried rectify my relationship with her. She died without knowing how much I loved her and I will never forgive myself for that." She sniffled, wiping under her eye quickly.

Katie kept her eyes glued to the pond before looking at her aunt. She stayed silent but wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close. "Forgive yourself. She didn't hate you and knew you loved her." She whispered. Her mom would often talk about Elizabeth and how much she missed her. They were both just too proud to do anything about it.

"I don't know what the letter that I gave you says but I'm sure it was her attempt to make amends. She just never got the chance to send it." Katie said, pulling back and wiping her aunt's cheeks. "When did I become the mom in this situation?" She teased, hoping it would lighten the mood.

Elizabeth laughed and shook her head, "I don't know. I'm the one who should do the comforting."

"Thanks for telling me." Katie said, kissing her aunt's cheek. "Now let's go before Uncle Henry thinks I did something to you."

"I guarantee he has ice cream sundaes waiting for us." She smirked, wrapping her arm around her niece's waist.

"Do you think Blake is still there?" Katie asked, grinning at her aunt.

 _A/N: I hope you guys enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it! I have a few ideas of where I want to take this story and I hope you continue to read along. Sorry for the long updates but life is busy :( Please review so I know that you guys are still liking this story!_


	4. Chapter 4

"Guess who turns 21 today!" Katie screamed and jumped on a sleeping Stevie.

Stevie groaned and tried to throw her cousin off of her, pulling the blankets down "I'm seriously regretting agreeing to let you stay in my room."

Katie jumped up and down a little before moving off of her, "Tonight is going to be insane! Just you wait." She said, smirking at her. "And after what happened last month I have to do a lot of bargaining with your parents. Now let's go downstairs because I'm pretty sure your dad made pancakes." She said before making her way downstairs quickly.

It had been a month since the funeral and although the pain hadn't gone away for Katie or Elizabeth they were starting to heal. Katie had gotten a new job in D.C. and against her aunt's wishes had been hanging out with Blake…as friends. She felt like she was getting a new start and it was just what she needed.

"Ok, she's coming." Katie whispered as she ducked behind the island with the rest of the family. As corny as the McCord's could be at times she secretly loved it. She never had that experience growing up.

Stevie walked down the steps and rolled her eyes when she noticed that her family wasn't in the kitchen, "I wonder where everyone is?" She played along, laughing as they all jumped up, yelling "Happy Birthday!"

They all looked at each other before running over to her and wrapping their arms around her, "Group hug!" Jason yelled, holding onto his sister as tight as he could. He knew that she probably hated her life right now and just wanted to torture her for a little longer.

"Alright enough!" Stevie laughed, pulling away from her family.

Elizabeth pouted a little and moved to wrap her arms back around Stevie, "But my first born is twenty-one. She needs extra love." She said, kissing her head softly. She stroked her hair and pressed her cheek against her head.

Stevie sighed and looked at her dad, mouthing "Help me."

Henry laughed and shrugged, shaking his head "I have pancakes to tend to." He said, moving back to the griddle. "I made Stevie's favorite today. Chocolate chip with strawberries on top."

Stevie moved out of her mother's grasp quickly, grabbing a plate of pancakes from Jason "My birthday." She said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Remind me to get her the worst during the laughy string fight." Jason said, grabbing the next plate.

Alison huffed a little and took the last plate from her dad, "Always the last one."

Katie moved over to her aunt and wrapped her arms around her, "Damn, you've created some pancake loving fools." She teased, keeping her arms around her aunt. "By the way, what's laughy string?" She asked, looking at her aunt confused. She kept her arms wrapped around her, figuring that if she was extra loving she could do whatever she wanted with Stevie tonight.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms back around her niece, knowing exactly what she was trying to do "Laughy string is just another name for silly string. Stevie used to call it that when she was little so we just kept the name. We have a war with it on all the kids birthdays and today, Katie Adams, you will be introduced to the super-secret ritual."

"Oh god." Katie mumbled, going over to take a plate from Henry. "Your family is worse than I thought." She said as she sat down at the table with the rest of the kids.

Henry laughed and handed Elizabeth a plate, kissing her softly "And Katie, don't think that you're getting one over on us by being all cuddly with your aunt. We know what you're doing."

Katie looked at Stevie and sighed, "Sorry that your 21st is going to involve apple juice and birthday cake."

Elizabeth flicked her niece on the shoulder and shook her head, "Hey now…we know this a big deal. You guys will have fun but there will be rules."

Stevie nodded and looked at her mom, "Sounds fair."

"Is Harrison coming?" Katie leaned over and whispered to Stevie, raising her eyebrows.

"I don't know is Blake coming?" Stevie whispered back and Katie narrowed her eyes.

Elizabeth smirked at Henry before folding her hands, "So I heard the words Harrison and Blake, care to share?"

Katie pulled back and smiled at her aunt, stuffing a pancake in her mouth. She shrugged and mumbled something about not being able to hear, causing her cousins to laugh.

Elizabeth shook her head and continued eating, she was just happy that Katie was getting back to being herself. She had a rough month full of tears and outbursts but she finally seemed to be happy. She was always a sarcastic, outgoing, happy person and it hurt Elizabeth to see her in the state she was in before. Everyone said she was a younger version of Elizabeth and she truly was. She acted the same way and was almost the spitting image of her at that age. If she was being honest with herself she would love for her to date Blake but she was just scared of what would happen if it went south.

"After breakfast I was thinking that we could talk to you two about our boundaries for tonight." Henry said as he looked over his coffee cup at his niece and daughter.

Stevie sighed and nodded, taking another bite of her pancake "Better to get it out of the way."

"If I may-" Katie started before being cut off by Elizabeth, "No. You may not"

"Is she always like this?" Katie mumbled to Stevie, laughing a little as she nodded yes.

Elizabeth glared at her niece for a few seconds and stood up from the table, "Ok, everyone besides Stevie has clean up duty." She started clearing the table and taking everything to the kitchen so she could start washing dishes.

Once everything was cleaned up Katie went into the living room and flopped on the couch next to Stevie, "So are we going to be able to do anything fun tonight?"

Stevie shrugged and looked over at her cousin, "Depends on what your definition of fun is."

Henry and Elizabeth walked into the living room and sat on the couch across from the girls, "We have been thinking a lot about this." Henry started and Elizabeth nodded, "We know that turning 21 is a big step in life but we haven't forgotten what happened last month. It was a trying time for everyone but that behavior and the cover-up was not acceptable." Elizabeth continued.

"I apologized for that and learned my lesson. I have no idea what I was thinking." Katie said sincerely, looking at her aunt. She still apologized all the time for what she said and did that night even though she knew Elizabeth forgave her.

Elizabeth nodded and smiled at her, "I know honey but we still have some boundaries for tonight. Don't think we've forgotten your UVA days either." She teased.

"I'm a lot older now Aunt Bess." Katie smirked, batting her eyelashes at her.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes a little and looked at Henry, "Help please."

"For tonight you guys have two choices, the first choice is to go to the hotel down the street in Georgetown and hang out there all night. We will even pay for your rooms for the night. They have bars and a club so you can party there all night if you want. Now the second choice, my personal favorite…" He smirked and leaned back on the couch, "If you want to bar hop around town then you are going to be supervised by non-other than the Secretary of State and her arm candy. Security detail and all…"

"That's my favorite too." Elizabeth laughed, leaning in to kiss Henry gently.

Stevie and Katie started at them blankly, not really sure if they were serious about that second option.

"Ok first of all ew, second of all, I'm pretty sure the first choice will be just fine." Katie said, nudging Stevie.

"Yes the first option, one hundred percent." Stevie agreed, moving off the couch. She went over to hug her parents and smiled at them, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." They said in unison and Katie rolled her eyes, making her way off the couch. As much as she teased her aunt and uncle for being gross and perfect she secretly envied them. She hoped that one day she had a relationship like theirs.

About an hour later Katie heard her aunt call her from the kitchen and she made her way in, smiling as the family was gathered there "What's up?"

"It's time for you to partake in your first McCord laughy string fight." Elizabeth announced, grinning at her niece.

"Oh jesus." Katie said, looking at box of silly string.

Henry carried the box outside and Katie watched as everyone grabbed a couple of cans before finding a hiding spot around the back yard. Katie followed suit and sighed, hoping that they didn't aim for her hair.

"On your marks…get set…GO!" Elizabeth yelled and everyone ran out into the center of the yard, spraying each other and laughing as they did.

Katie smiled as she watched them for a few seconds before running towards them, attacking all of them with the silly string. She screamed when they all decided to gang up on her, laughing as Jason tried to hold her in place.

"Not fair you runt!" She yelled at him, spraying it right in his face.

"You need to be initiated!" He yelled back and she laughed loudly.

As soon as all of the silly string was gone they made their way back inside, peeling off the silly string as they did.

"I'll admit, that was a lot of fun." Katie confessed, looking at her family "But I call shower first." She said as she started running up the stairs.

"Not fair!" Stevie yelled, chasing her up the stairs. Jason and Allison followed them, laughing as they did.

Henry shook his head and looked at Elizabeth, placing his hands on her hips. She looked up at him and smiled a little, "I'm glad she's starting to have fun now. I don't think I've heard her laugh that much in the past month."

He nodded and leaned down to kiss her softly, resting his forehead on hers "You too. I'm glad you're laughing again."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him, keeping her eyes on his "It was a rough month but I think the mood is starting to shift a bit which I am grateful for." She said, pressing her lips against his more firmly. "You look sexy like that." She teased, wiggling her eyebrows at his.

"Oh yeah?" He smirked, kissing her a few more times quickly. "Maybe when the kids leave later we can play around with the laughy string ourselves."

Elizabeth laughed and shook her head, "You're crazy."

Later that night Stevie and Katie descended down the stairs, dressed to the nines for the night. "You two look amazing!" Elizabeth said, snapping a picture with her phone.

Stevie rolled her eyes and looked over at Katie, "Well standing next to the supermodel of the family sure makes me feel great about myself." She said sarcastically.

Katie rolled her eyes and posed for a few more pictures with her cousin before grabbing Stevie's hand, "Come on. I'm sure everyone is waiting." She said, trying to run out before they got the parental lecture part 2.

"Not so fast." Elizabeth smirked and looked at her niece and daughter.

Katie sighed and turned around slowly, smiling sweetly at her aunt and uncle "I knew it wouldn't be that easy."

"Katie you are the responsible one tonight since you are older. If anything happens that shouldn't I will hold you responsible." She said, kissing her nieces cheek quickly.

"And Stevie please be careful and have fun." Henry said, hugging both girls quickly.

Katie and Stevie nodded before heading towards the door, "You better not get me into trouble." Katie mumbled before they headed out to the car.

Henry turned to look at Elizabeth and wrapped his arms around her slowly, smirking "Those two are gone and Jason and Ally left for sleepovers earlier…what are we going to do with ourselves?" He asked and nuzzled his face against her neck.

Elizabeth sighed and wrapped her arms back around him, stroking the back of his hair gently "I'm sad my baby is growing into an adult and all you can think of is sex." She said as she pulled back, sticking her lower lip out at him.

He laughed a little and rubbed her hips gently, "I'm equally as sad baby but we're alone in this house for once. That's a rare occasion these days and I was just thinking that maybe we should take advantage of that fact."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and took his hand in hers, leading him up the stairs "You're right. I can pout another day."

* * *

Stevie and Katie walked into the hotel they were staying at, bags in hand, and checked in quickly. They headed up to the rooms and laughed a little as Blake and Harrison were standing outside of the rooms. "Well if you two handsome guys aren't a sight for sore eyes." Katie said as she went over to hug Blake. "If I had to take a wild guess my aunt sent you two to watch over us for the night, even though you were already coming."

"You guessed correct." Blake smirked and wrapped his arm around Katie.

Even though Katie and Blake weren't officially dating, anyone who witnessed their interactions could tell that there was strong feelings there. Blake would never usually mix business with pleasure but there was something about Katie that he felt connected to. He had gotten the secretary's blessing to date her but something was holding him back. He was afraid that something would go terribly wrong and his relationship with the secretary would never be the same.

"We should probably head down. I'm sure my friends are waiting." Stevie said as she grabbed Harrison's hand, leading him to the elevator.

Katie did the same with Blake and the four of them ascended down the elevator for what they hoped to be a night they wouldn't forget.

* * *

Elizabeth rested her head on Henry's chest and laughed a little as he struggled to catch his breath, "Henry, it's been like five minutes since we finished should I be worried right now?" She teased, smirking a little.

"You wore me out babe." He laughed, kissing the top of her head.

"Or you're just getting old." She said, smacking his chest gently.

He pulled back a little and leaned down to kiss her a few times slowly, running his hand over her cheek "I love you." He whispered before getting up and heading to the bathroom.

Elizabeth smiled to herself before moving to her dresser to change into one of her oversized sweaters. Once she slipped it over her head, her eyes landed on the note that had been haunting her since her sisters' funeral. Katie had given it to her, well really threw it at her, and up until now she didn't have the courage to read it. Maybe tonight would be the night since no one but Henry was in the house. She was just scared to relive all the emotions again when she had been doing so well with everything. She took a deep breath and retrieved the letter with shaky hands, bringing it back over to the bed.

She looked at her sisters' handwriting on the front and blinked back the tears that were already starting to form.

Henry walked out and looked at Elizabeth who was staring at the letter in front of her. He slipped on a pair of boxers and crawled into bed next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He kissed the side of her head and wiped a tear that made its way down her cheek.

"I think you should open it." He whispered, "Then maybe you can heal completely." He knew that Elizabeth was doing much better with her emotions since her sister had passed but he knew that deep down she still wasn't completely over everything that had happened. Maybe she never would be but this was a step towards forgiving herself.

Elizabeth sniffled and nodded, opening the letter slowly…

 _Elizabeth,_

 _Where do I start? I think I'll just go with a simple, I'm sorry. Two simple words but for some reason it doesn't seem like enough. I regret letting you walk out of my life every day. You are the best sister in the world and I let something silly get between us. You were just trying to help me but I couldn't see it at the time. I see it now though and I hope that one day you can forgive me and I hope that I can come up with the courage to send this to you. Through all of this I am thankful for one thing…that you still find room in your life for Katie. You are her hero. Please promise me that no matter what happens between us, you will always have room in your home for her. I love you Lizzy. Please don't ever forget that._

 _Love,_

 _Suzie_

 _P.S. Secretary of State? Not a bad gig. I'm sure mom and dad would be proud, I know I am._

Once Elizabeth finished the letter she clutched it against her chest and turned in Henry's arms, sobbing against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him, rubbing her back slowly. He nuzzled his face against her hair and let her cry, knowing this was one of the hardest things she had ever gone through.

Elizabeth calmed down after a few minutes and looked up at Henry, wiping her eyes gently. She sniffled softly and leaned up to kiss Henry's cheek "Thank you." She whispered softly. Henry was always her rock when she was going through a rough time and she was so thankful for him. He nodded at her and kissed her forehead gently, letting his lips linger for a few seconds. He didn't want to push her to talk about what was in the letter, he figured it was private.

Elizabeth reached over and placed the letter on her nightstand, she would figure out later where she would keep it. She switched off the light and laid her head on Henry's chest, sinking into his embrace.

"She didn't blame me…" She whispered. She had blamed herself every day for what happened even if she knew it wasn't fully her fault.

"So maybe now you can stop blaming yourself." Henry told her, hoping that she would let herself off the hook a little bit.

She shrugged and wrapped her arms around him, "Hopefully I'll be able to one day."

* * *

Katie laughed a little as Stevie stumbled into the elevator, "Let's see how much you remember in the morning."

"Shush…" Stevie slurred, leaning on Harrison.

Katie had decided to stay sober for the night, only opting for one drink. She had promised her aunt and uncle she would take care of Stevie and she didn't want to disappoint them again. Plus, she didn't want to seem sloppy in front of Blake.

When they got to their floor Katie walked down the hallway with Stevie, helping Harrison hold her up. As they made their way to their rooms, Katie kissed Stevie's cheek and smiled "Goodnight beautiful. See you in the morning." She said before eying Harrison, "You better take care of her."

As she watched their hotel door close, Katie turned around and smiled at Blake, "That's for hanging out with me tonight."

"No problem. It was fun." He said, smiling back at her.

She leaned up to hug him and squeezed him tightly before pulling back. Before she could think about what was happening she felt his lips on hers. She slowly kissed him back, running her hands over her arms. As he pulled back she looked up at him with her bright blue eyes, placing her hands on his hips.

"I'll see you in the morning." Blake said before heading towards his room.

Katie nodded and smiled a little to herself, this was the first time in her life she felt herself falling head over heels with someone.

 _A/N: So I realize that I am the absolute worst when it comes to updating. I have just been super busy lately :( Hopefully you guys haven't forgotten about this story and still want to read! Please review so I know if you guys are still interested! Thanks. :)_


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a year. One year since Elizabeth was in Iran. One year since her life had changed. The anniversary of the events that happened in Iran were weighing heavily on the family. It was the day they almost lost their wife, mother, and aunt. Katie hadn't been as effected as the rest of the family since she wasn't there to experience the fall out but she did understand that she was close to losing her aunt forever. She couldn't imagine life without her or her mother. She would have never recovered from that.

"Just act normal around her. She's probably going to act like nothing is wrong and she is ok but she's not. She was up all night. Just pretend like it is a normal day." Henry informed Katie as she sipped on her coffee at the island.

"Got it. Normal." She said, smiling at him. "You know I've always loved how protective you are of her. It's sweet even if I pretend like you guys gross me out."

Henry laughed a little and nodded, "Well that's at least one kid who thinks we're cute."

Katie spotted her aunt as she walked down the stairs in a rush, her hair slightly disheveled. "Hey aunt Bess." She said happily, smiling as her aunt rushed to the coffee pot.

The other kids had left for school already, wanting to avoid their mother. Katie figured at least one of them should be there so it was somewhat normal even if she would be a few minutes late for work.

"Morning." Elizabeth mumbled avoiding eye contact with her husband and niece. She could see right through them. She knew they were walking on egg shells around her and she hated it. She appreciated that they were trying to act normal but they weren't.

"I'm late." She said quickly as she went over to Katie to kiss her head and then to Henry to kiss him quickly. "I'll see you guys after work." She said, grabbing her bag and running out of the house.

"That went well." Katie sighed, grabbing her own bag. "I'm going to be late. See you later." She said as she patted Henry on the back on her way out.

Henry sighed and watched as she left before grabbing his own bag. He knew that this day was going to be similar to the days following Iran, he just hoped that Elizabeth did not go backwards on her progress.

As Katie hopped in her car to head to work she texted Blake quickly before driving off, _Keep an eye on her today. Meet for lunch? Xo_

Blake had already been at the office for a few hours when he got the text from Katie. Just like everyone else in the office he knew what today was. They had made a pact to try and make today as normal as possible but knowing Matt and Daisy that was going to be ruined the second the secretary walked into the office.

 _Always. 12 sound good? –B_

Katie smiled when she saw the message from Blake once she reached her own office, shaking her head. He had to be the sweetest man on the planet and somehow she snagged him.

 _You're the best. I'll meet you at your office. Xo_

She loved how protective he was of her aunt and that he was always loyal to her no matter what she did. Her aunt was lucky to have found him.

* * *

Elizabeth stormed into the state department, trying to get to her office as quickly as she could. She really just wanted to sit at her desk and do paperwork all day. Something that was out of the ordinary for her.

She made her way to Blake's desk and smiled at him, trying her best to act normal "Any messages before I go in my office?"

"Henry, Katie, and Stevie all called but I told them you were not in yet. Matt and Daisy also would like to speak to you if you get a chance." He informed her, "I'll make sure to keep the latter away from your office all day."

She laughed a little and nodded at him, "Thank you."

Elizabeth walked into her office and sighed a little as she sat down in her chair, checking her phone quickly. She wasn't surprised at the amount of missed calls and texts she had from the kids and Henry but she was not in the mood to talk about her feelings right now.

She slipped on her glasses and started on the paperwork that was piled up on her desk. Hopefully there was no international crisis today.

Blake heard heels and some mumbling coming towards his desk, he didn't even have to look up to know that it was Matt and Daisy coming towards him.

"The secretary just arrived in her office. She does not want to see anyone right now." He said, not even looking up from his computer screen.

"We know that she probably doesn't want to talk about today but she has too. The press is already expecting her to make a statement about the events that happened a year ago." Daisy said quickly, "Matt already has a speech prepared."

Blake sighed and looked up from his desk, "I'll leave her a message but I can't make any promises about what she will or will not do."

Matt and Daisy shared a look before starting to walk back to their office, "Fine. We'll check back soon." Matt told Blake as they disappeared down the long hallway.

Blake sighed and stood from his desk, walking into the Secretary's office. At first glance she looked bad. She looked small, frail, pale, and disheveled. He was worried that she wasn't handling today too well.

"Ma'am, Matt and Daisy stopped by but I told them you probably weren't interested in seeing them anytime soon." Blake informed her as Elizabeth continued to stare at the papers in front of her.

"What did they want?"

"They…they think you should release a statement about the coup attempt that happened a year ago."

Elizabeth stopped what she was writing and stared at the paper in front of her for a few seconds before looking up at Blake, "You know what…you can send them in." She said as she clenched her jaw, taking her glasses off.

By the look on her face, Blake knew Matt and Daisy were in for a world of hurt. He nodded at her and started walking out of the office, "Yes ma'am." He walked back to his desk and phoned Daisy and Matt, wondering if he should give them a warning or not.

Matt and Daisy rushed back to Blake's desk, "So I see she wanted to see us after all." Matt bragged, smirking at Blake.

"I guess so." Blake responded, starting to reply to e-mails on his computer. They were going to get what they deserved.

Elizabeth leaned against her desk, awaiting Daisy and Matt. She was going to try her best not to lose her cool but she felt like her efforts were going to fail.

As she saw them walk in, she smirked and pointed to the chairs in front of her, "Take a seat…"

Matt and Daisy glanced at each other before sitting and Elizabeth could tell that they could sense her anxiety.

"Now…I thought I made it very clear to you guys yesterday that we were not going to discuss what happened a year ago." She reprimanded, her fingers gripping her desk.

"With all due respect ma'am…" Daisy started before she was cut off by Elizabeth's raised hand in front of her.

"Just stop right there Daisy! Like I said yesterday I am not discussing anything about a year ago with anyone. That includes the press. I will not exploit what happened and the deaths of anyone who lost their life that day. If you come back to me with this same bull shit you can start packing." She shouted, her breathing getting heavier. "You know what, you two can just leave for the day since I'm not making a speech or a press release."

Both nodded and stood, "Yes ma'am…" Matt said softly as they both left with their heads down.

Elizabeth sat down at her desk and ran her hands over her face slowly, trying to steady out her breathing. "Shit…" She mumbled to herself as she felt a panic attack on the horizon. She reached for the medicine in her drawer and looked at it for a few seconds before throwing it back down. She moved to get up, walking to her bathroom quickly, throwing some water on her face.

* * *

"Hey you!" Katie said cheerfully as she reached Blake's desk. She leaned down to kiss his cheek and looked towards her aunt's office. "How is she?"

Blake stood up and shrugged, moving closer to Katie "I'm not sure. Matt and Daisy came out about a half hour ago and I haven't seen or heard anything since then." He whispered not wanting everyone else to hear him.

Katie nodded and ran her hand over his upper arm, "I'll go check on her quickly and then we can go."

Blake nodded and smiled at her, "Ok. I'll be waiting."

Katie walked into her Aunt's office and crinkled her eyebrows when she did not see her at her desk, "Aunt Bess?" She called out as she scanned the room. She heard water running in the bathroom and walked over, gasping when she saw her aunt passed out on the floor.

"Blake!" She yelled loudly, going over to check to make sure her aunt was still breathing. When Blake ran into the room she looked back at him, "Call 911!"

 _A/N: Long time no see! I hope that some of you are still interested in this story. My life is crazy right now and updating this story has been put on the back burner for so long and I am so sorry! If you want me to continue and are still enjoying the story let me know. This was just a quick update but I promise more is coming soon! I already started the next chapter._


	6. Chapter 6

Elizabeth woke with a start, confused as to where she was. All she could see around her was light and blurry figures above her. She tried to focus more and saw that Katie was running next to whoever was pushing her.

"You're going to be ok…" Katie said to her when she realized her aunt was awake, reaching for her hand.

Elizabeth held her hand tightly and nodded, this scene was all too familiar. Once they got to the hospital room they performed a lot of unnecessary tests in her mind, concluding that she had a panic attack… again.

Once Elizabeth was settled they allowed Katie to come back into the room. She smiled softly at her aunt and sat on the edge of her bed, "You know you scared the shit out of me right?" She asked, placing her hand on top of her aunt's.

"I'm sorry. I don't even know what really happened. The last thing I remember was washing my face off in the bathroom."

Katie nodded and shrugged, "I was supposed to meet Blake for lunch but before we left I wanted to check on you because he hadn't heard from you and that's when I found you in the bathroom passed out. I don't exactly know what happened but I'm just happy you're ok now."

Elizabeth nodded and sighed, looking down "You should go have lunch with Blake. I promise I'll be fine." She said, looking back up at her niece with wide eyes. The last thing she wanted Katie to deal with was her having a mental breakdown.

Katie gave her a look and shook her head, "Look, I'm not going to ask any questions about why you had a panic attack. That's your husband's job. He was in a meeting when I called him but he should be here soon and I'm not leaving until then."

"Do the other kids know?" Elizabeth asked, not wanting anyone to worry about her.

"I didn't say anything but I don't know who Uncle Henry told."

Elizabeth rested her head against the pillows and closed her eyes, swallowing a lump in her throat. She didn't want to cry in front of Katie but the weight of today was finally crashing down on her. She cleared her throat and looked away, keeping her emotions in check. She had become a pro at that over the past few years.

Katie looked at her sympathetically and squeezed her hand gently. "Just know that I am here for you no matter what. I know we've had some issues in the past but that's all behind us and I would not be able to handle losing you too. So hang in there for me, your kids, and your husband."

Elizabeth nodded and wiped away a stray tear that rolled down her cheek, "You're a good kid, you know that right?" She asked, smiling at Katie.

"I know." Katie smirked and laughed a little. She heard footsteps running down the hallway and kissed her aunt's forehead quickly, "I'm guessing that's Uncle Henry." She turned and looked at her uncle as he ran into her room, panting. Katie winked at her aunt and Elizabeth shook her head. "Breathe. She needs you…" Katie whispered as she passed by Henry, leaving the room so she could give them privacy.

Henry nodded and took in a deep breath, looking at Elizabeth. He didn't know how he was feeling. It was a mixture between guilt, sympathy, and anger. He felt guilty because he couldn't take away this pain, sympathy for what she had been through, and anger because she always held everything in.

"Can you say something?" Elizabeth asked him, keeping her eyes on his.

Henry blinked a few times, coming out of the daze that he was in. He moved over to her bed and sat on the edge, pushing her hair behind her ear. "How are you feeling?" He asked, not wanting to push her too hard yet.

"I'm ok. Don't worry though, I'm coming home this time. I learned my lesson after last year." She joked, trying to break the tension.

Henry smiled at her sadly and nodded, "Good." For once he was at a loss for words. He didn't know how to talk to her about this topic. It was the one thing in their lives that they always danced around. He was never the one to initiate the conversation and she rarely discussed it.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him a little and smirked, "Is Henry McCord at a loss for words?"

Henry raised his eyebrows at her and shook his head, slightly annoyed. She did the same thing the year prior, joking about a serious situation regarding her health.

He took her hand in his and entwined their fingers, "I want to say a lot Elizabeth but I can't…because just like before you will not talk about your feelings. You keep things in for too long and then you break. I don't know what to do anymore and it is killing me. I've always been able to help you through things but this is the one area where you won't let me." He said seriously, his eyes watering.

Elizabeth couldn't hold it in anymore and broke down in tears. She felt so guilty for causing Henry pain and it just made everything worse. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her face against his neck, "I'm so sorry." She whispered, holding onto him tightly.

Henry sighed and ran his hand over her hair, kissing her head gently "It's ok." He said, keeping her close to him. As hurt as he felt he knew that it was so much worse for her and he couldn't hold that against her. He just wished she would get the help she needed.

* * *

Elizabeth wrapped her arm around Henry as they walked into the house, giving the kids a small smile as they all ran over to hug her.

"I'm so glad you're ok." Stevie said, squeezing her mom close.

"Me too." Allison interjected, staying pressed between her mom and Jason.

Katie stood back with Henry and smiled at the scene, they were seriously the perfect family. There was always a part of her that was jealous even though she loved her mom with all of her heart. There was just a part of her that wished she had the normal family life. She was just grateful that they all accepted her into their lives.

"You're mom and I are going to take a few days off and head to Virginia. She needs a beak, not from you guys but from everything." Henry informed everyone, hoping they would understand. "Katie you're in charge."

"Woah, it must be serious if mom agreed to take off." Jason piped in, glaring at Stevie as he felt her hand upside his head.

"Knock it off nerd." Stevie scolded.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and laughed a little, "Please just behave while we're gone." She went over to kiss all of their cheeks, "And no Blake." She said, pointing at Katie.

"I promise it will just be me and the kids while you're gone." She reassured, knowing that she would probably see him anyway.

"Alright, well we have enough clothing at the other house so we're just going to head out. We will call you guys later." Henry said, heading back out to the car with Elizabeth.

* * *

Once they entered the house in Virginia, Elizabeth smiled back at Henry "If I reach for my phone at any point please just grab it and throw it out a window."

"I'll hold you to that." Henry teased, running his hand over her hip "But for now you need to relax, doctors' orders."

She nodded and went over to the couch in their living room, plopping down. She leaned back and closed her eyes, waiting for Henry to come back. She just wanted to be near him. She watched as he came into the room, starting to set up the fire place. "I'm ready to talk when you're done." She said softly, keeping her eyes on him.

He nodded and went back to the couch when he was done, wrapping a blanket around them. She cuddled against him and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. In all honesty she didn't want to talk about Iran and what happened today but she owed it to him and herself.

She looked up at him and smiled sadly, running her hand over his cheek "I love you Henry and today I realized that I wasn't the only one effected by what happened a year ago. I think that I was in my own little bubble and was so focused on my emotions that I never stopped and looked around. I should have and I'm sorry."

Henry kissed her cheek and shook his head, "Babe there is no need to apologize. It was a rough time for everyone and I thought that we were past everything but I'm guessing that there are still some open wounds for you."

She nodded and kissed his shoulder softly, "I thought I was ok and then last night I couldn't sleep. My mind was going a mile a minute and I felt like I was back in Iran. Today I just decided to shut everyone out and this morning I could tell that you and Katie were stepping on egg shells around me. That just aggravated me more for some reason. Then when I got to the office, Matt and Daisy wanted me to release a statement and I lost it. I could feel that rage and panic building up and I couldn't stop it. It was just like last year and I didn't want to go there again. The last thing I remember was trying to cool myself down in the bathroom. According to Katie I was still there when she found me passed out." She ran her hands over her face and bit her lip, "I feel so bad that she was the one who found me. After all she's been through…I just…I don't know."

Henry tightened his grip around her shoulder and placed his finger under her chin, trying to get her to look at him, "She's not mad at you for that. She was just glad that you were ok and that someone was there to find you. I know that you struggle with what happened in Iran and that's normal. You went through a lot. Elizabeth you know that I think you are the most amazing woman on this planet but the one thing you've always struggled with was opening up about your feelings. Usually I can get you to open up eventually but this was the one thing that I couldn't get you to talk about. You were so much better after you went to the therapist and now I'm worried that you're just going backwards in your progress." He said honestly.

"I'm ok. I promise. I think it was just the stress of today and the memories that caused me to have a panic attack. If in the next few days I feel like I'm still not feeling like myself then I'll go back to the therapist. No medicine though. That's still off the table." She assured him, laughing a little.

Henry smiled at her and nodded, "That's all I ask baby."

She cuddled back against him and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his middle. She knew she would be ok. She had her family and that's all she needed.

 _A/N: See I promised a quick update! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)_ _I pretty much know where I want this story to go and how it will end but there are still a few chapters left! Let me know what you thought by reviewing! Happy Madam Secretary Sunday!_


	7. Chapter 7

Be careful what you wish for. Those were the words that were going through Katie's mind the past few days. She had always wished that her dad was in the picture and that she had a family just like her aunt did. Well now it looked like she was getting her wish. Her dad had been texting and e-mailing her, wanting to be in her life again. She had been debating on what to do and who to tell if anyone. She knew her aunt would forbid it but she needed to do what she thought was right for herself.

"Katie? Earth to Katie?" Elizabeth called to her niece across the table, noticing she was staring into space.

Katie snapped out of her daze and shook her head, "Sorry, I'm just not with it today."

"I see that. Everything ok?" Elizabeth asked, noticing she had been like this for the past few days.

"I'm fine Aunt Bess."

"Are you sure? Is it Blake? Work? Something else? I'm always here if…" Elizabeth asked before getting cut off.

"No, none of that. I said I'm fine." Katie snapped, continuing to pick at her dinner.

Elizabeth looked at Henry and shrugged going back to her own food. Stevie had also picked up on Katie's odd mood and was hoping she could figure out what was wrong with her later but for now she was just happy that the attention wasn't on her.

After dinner was finished, Katie stood at the sink with her aunt, helping with the dishes. "Sorry for snapping on you earlier. I think work just has me beat." Katie lied, smiling a little at her aunt.

Elizabeth nodded and smiled back, "Well you know that offer to come work at the state department is still on the table."

"I think Blake would freak out if I ever got a job at the state department. Too much conflict would be going on in his cute little head." She teased, drying the last dish.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes when she called Blake cute, "I still think it's so weird that you two are together. I've seen your type and he is definitely not it but if you're happy then I'm happy." She said as she kissed Katie's head.

"At least I didn't eat him alive like you thought I would."

Elizabeth laughed and nodded, "Why don't you head to bed and try to get some sleep."

"That sounds like a great idea. Night Aunt Bess." She said as she kissed her aunt on the cheek.

Katie made her way up the stairs, grateful that her aunt did not push her anymore. The work excuse seemed to be enough to keep her aunt from asking questions…for now. She made her way to the bedroom and saw Stevie sitting up in her bed, "What are you doing?" She asked, flopping down on her own bed.

"Oh just wondering when you're going to move out so I can have this whole room to myself again." Stevie teased, moving over to Katie's bed.

"Please, you're going to miss me when I'm gone. All of the heat from your parents will be on you again."

"You're right… I enjoyed the spies questioning you for once at dinner. Usually it's me being interrogated." Stevie said, sitting across from Katie. "So do you want to tell me what is really going on and not the lie you just told my mom?"

Katie sighed and looked at her, "Fine, but you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Deal." Stevie smirked, knowing that they always had each other's back.

"My dad has been contacting me about being in my life…I haven't decided if I'm going to let him. Your mom would forbid me from seeing him if she knew so I don't plan on telling her."

Stevie stared at her cousin for a moment, "Are you kidding me? This is the guy who abandoned you and your mom and was abusive towards her. You seriously want to meet this guy?"

Katie shrugged and laid back on her pillows, "I don't know, maybe he changed and maybe he didn't…I feel that I should still give him a shot. If he's a total douchebag then everyone can tell me they were right about him."

Stevie knew from stories that this guy was bad news and that she should probably tell her mom. She highly doubted that he changed and was afraid that he was going to hurt Katie. "You need to think hard about this. You haven't seen this guy since you were a baby and now all of a sudden he wants to see you again? It doesn't seem right."

"I hear you Stevie but I just need to meet him. I know I've met him before but I was little and don't remember much…" She sat back up and smirked at her cousin, "I was thinking that maybe you could come with me, just to make sure nothing goes wrong?"

Stevie sighed and shook her head, "Do you remember the last time I lied for you? I'm not doing it again."

"Fine. I'll go by myself then."

Stevie groaned and glared at Katie, "I'll go but if anything bad happens I'm telling my parents."

"We'll be fine. I promise." Katie reassured, hugging her cousin before hopping off of the bed "I'm heading over Blake's for a bit. I'll give you more details later."

Stevie nodded and watched as her cousin left, she was having déjà vu all over again.

* * *

"Something is bothering you." Blake mumbled.

Katie sighed and threw her head back, sitting up "I am on top of you, half naked, and you thought this was a great time to talk?" She asked, leaning down to kiss his neck softly again.

"I just think that if something is wrong then we should talk before we go any farther. Something hasn't seemed right since you got here." He said, looking at her.

Katie groaned and rolled off him, laying on her back, "Fine. What do you want to talk about Blake?" She asked annoyed, looking up at the ceiling.

He rolled over on his side and looked at her, wrapping his arm around her stomach "Did you tell your aunt about your dad?"

Katie rolled her eyes and looked at him, "No and I decided I'm not going to. She's not going to understand and she's going to forbid me from seeing him. I'm better off keeping it to myself."

Blake moved over so his head was on her pillow, touching his nose against hers "I think that you need to give your aunt a little more credit. Sure, she's usually irrational at first but eventually she calms down after she starts listening. I think that if you explained yourself and why you want to see your dad she would understand. She may insist on going with you but that's another story…" He smiled and kept his eyes on hers, "Just relax and take your time with this decision. I will be on your side no matter what you choose kid."

Katie nodded and smiled back at him, "I'm not sure why you love me." She teased and rolled on top of him so she was straddling his waist, "You're too good for me…though calling me kid isn't exactly what I consider a cute nickname."

He shrugged and smiled at her, running his hands over her back "Well I guess that gives you incentive to never break up with me since I'm so perfect."

Katie laughed and shook her head, her long blonde hair framing her face "Don't flatter yourself too much." She said as she moved her lips to his, kissing him softly "Now where was I?"

* * *

Elizabeth walked down the stairs and smiled at her oldest daughter who was eating a bowl of ice cream, "Hey baby, do you know where Katie is?" She asked, kissing her head gently. "I thought she was going to bed earlier."

Stevie nodded and hopped up on the island, looking at her mom "She's at Blake's…as usual."

Elizabeth laughed and started scooping out some ice cream for herself, "Is someone jealous?" She teased and hopped up to sit next to her.

"No."

"It's ok. I know you guys were hanging out all of the time before she started dating him and now since Harrison is out of the picture…" Elizabeth rambled before being cut-off.

"Really mom?"

"I'm sorry." Elizabeth smirked and went back to her ice cream, "By the way do you know what was up with her at dinner? She seemed distracted and I don't but her I'm just tired excuse."

Stevie looked at her mom wide eyed for a second before going back to her ice cream, "No idea." She said, trying not to make eye contact.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and placed her bowl down, "Need I remind you that I can read all of my children like a book, especially you."

Stevie looked up at her mom and swallowed hard, not knowing what she should do.

* * *

Katie smiled at the detail as she walked passed them and into the house. She closed the door quietly, not wanting to wake anyone. She went over to the closet and placed her jacket in gently, making her way to the stairs.

"Do you usually come in this late when you're at Blake's?"

Katie gasped slightly and placed her hand on her chest, walking into the kitchen "Aunt Bess? You scared me! What are you doing up so late?" She asked, wondering why her aunt was sitting in the kitchen at 1:30 in the morning.

"I was having some trouble sleeping because I was worried about you. Stevie told me why you have been out of it lately and I was afraid you went to meet your father alone." Elizabeth told her, moving closer to her niece.

Katie rolled her eyes and started moving back towards the stairs, "I'm going to bed."

Elizabeth grabbed her arm gently and shook her head, "Not so fast….did you really think I wouldn't find out about this? I knew you were lying and I knew Stevie was lying when she tried to cover for you."

Katie sighed and laughed a little, "You know, Blake convinced me to talk to you about this and I was going to when you got home from work tomorrow. I can tell by your tone and your body language that he was wrong. You're not going to listen. You're just going to berate me and forbid me from seeing him. So I'll just save you the lecture…." She said, pulling her arm back.

"Excuse me? Remember that you are still living under my roof and you will speak to me with respect." Elizabeth raised her voice at her niece, forgetting that everyone was sleeping in the house. "Your father was an addict and abused your mother. He didn't want to be in your life and was the reason I stopped speaking to her. Of course I am going to forbid you from seeing him."

Katie threw her hands up in the air and shook her head, "And that's it? I get no say?"

"You need to understand –" Elizabeth started before getting cut off again.

"You don't understand! No one in this family does. I love you and Uncle Henry like my mom and my dad but you're not my parents. I never knew what it was like to have a father and now everyone is trying to deny me that." Katie said through tears.

"Honey, we're not –"

"I know that there is a chance that he hasn't changed and is contacting me because he needs something. I'm not stupid! But why can't you even consider that there is a chance he has changed?" She asked, growing more upset by the second.

"Because I saw what he did to your mother!" Elizabeth cried, losing her cool. "And I'm not going to let him do it to you. I know you miss your mom and I do too but letting your dad back into your life isn't a way to replace her."

Katie laughed bitterly and wiped under her eyes, "Like I said, you don't understand."

"What is going on down here?" Henry whispered as he walked down the stairs, "Everyone is sleeping."

He stopped when he noticed both women crying in the kitchen, walking closer to them. "Are you guys ok?" He asked, wanting to comfort both of them but not knowing what was going on.

Katie looked at her aunt sadly before walking past Henry, "I'm sorry…we're done." She said softly as she walked up the stairs, quickly getting into her bed. She was thankful that Stevie hadn't woken up.

Henry walked over to Elizabeth and wrapped his arms around her, running his hand over her back gently "What was that about?"

Elizabeth sniffled and nuzzled her face against his chest, "She wants to meet her dad."

Henry sighed softly and pulled back, kissing her head gently "Why don't you sleep on it and then you two can talk about it tomorrow night."

Elizabeth nodded and wiped under her eyes quickly, making her way upstairs. She wanted Katie to know she understood why she wanted to see her dad but she also needed to explain to her why she thought it was a bad idea.

* * *

The next day, Elizabeth walked into the house after a slow day at work and went over to where Henry was sitting, kissing his cheek "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" She teased, smiling as he kissed her lips gently.

"Busy day at work?" He asked, bringing her down onto his lap.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and shook her head, "The opposite actually…I would have never thought I would complain about a slow day at work but I was so bored." She said, running his hand over the back of his head. "Is Katie home?" She asked, not forgetting that they were supposed to talk today.

He took his glasses off and tossed them on the desk, shaking his head "No but she's on her way home according to Stevie. Why don't you take her out to dinner and I'll take care of the kids here." He suggested, wanting them to figure out their problems.

"That's a good idea." She said, pecking his lips a few more times gently. She moved from his lap and went to greet Stevie, Jason, and Ali who were all in the living room before making her way up to their room to get changed.

Katie sighed as she pulled up to the house and looked down at her phone, smiling at the text she received from Blake…

 _Just relax. – B_

She hadn't answered any messages from her aunt during the day but noticed that there was another one from her aunt, sent a few minutes ago…

 _We're going out to dinner tonight, just us. We need to talk._

Katie shut her eyes and grabbed her bag, making her way up to the front door. They both had a day to hash out their thoughts and feelings so hopefully today would be better than last night.

"Hey guys!" Katie called as she walked through the door, smiling at her cousins and uncle as she walked by them.

She stopped at the kitchen when she saw her aunt, biting her lip gently "You want to go out to eat?" She asked, placing her bag down on the kitchen table.

Elizabeth nodded and turned around, "Yeah, I think it would be best for us to get out of the house and talk." She said with a wink, she could tell that Katie was nervous.

Katie nodded and relaxed a little when she noticed her aunt's demeanor, she didn't look as upset as last night "Ok. Well I'm ready to go when you are."

Elizabeth smiled and grabbed her pocket book, "Let's go." She said, leading Katie to the back door.

* * *

Katie looked around at the dimly lit BBQ joint and laughed a little as she looked at the menu, "I didn't know the Secretary of State ate at places like this."

"I hate stuffy restaurants, you should know that. I'll take a greasy burger over a salad or expensive steak any day. Plus, Russell Jackson said that there is never any press here." Elizabeth smirked, glancing at the menu.

When the waitress came they both ordered a cheeseburger and fries, "I haven't had a burger in forever." Katie said, taking a sip of her water.

"I can tell. It looks like we don't feed you." Elizabeth teased, laughing a little.

Katie rolled her eyes and swallowed thickly before looking back at her aunt, "I'm sorry Aunt Bess. I shouldn't have acted crazy last night. I've just been so thrown off ever since he contacted me." She confessed, hoping her aunt wasn't too mad at her.

Elizabeth nodded and reached for her niece's hand, squeezing it gently "I think anyone in your situation would be thrown off. I'm just scared that you're going to meet him and he's going to disappoint you…or even worse do something to hurt you. He wasn't a good guy when he was with your mom and I have my suspicions about if he really changed." She sighed and kept her eyes on her niece's tearful one's, "I hope you know that Uncle Henry and I think of you as our own daughter and we love you just as much as the other kids."

Katie nodded and sniffled softly, squeezing her aunt's hand back "I know you guys do and I appreciate it so much but all my life it felt like something was missing. Uncle Henry has always been a great father figure to me but…I don't know how to describe the feeling."

Elizabeth nodded and sighed softly, "It's something I'm not going to be able to understand but if you want to talk I'm here…but I can't give you my blessing to see him. I know you're 25 and able to make your own decisions but I just think it's a bad idea."

Katie nodded and let go of her aunt's hand as their food came, picking at her fries. "I think you're right. He never wanted to be in my life before so why does he want to be after 25 years?"

"And it's his loss. He's never going to know about the amazing human being you've become. If you think you need some type of closure e-mail him back and make it clear that you do not want any more contact with him." Elizabeth said slightly relieved. She felt bad for her niece but also thought she was making the right decision for herself.

Katie started eating her burger and let her thoughts wander. All she wanted was to be part of a family and she was, but she still felt like part of her didn't belong with them. Her eyes widened and she placed her food down, "I have an idea!" She said, looking at her aunt wide eyed.

* * *

Elizabeth walked into the house with Katie, her arm wrapped around her. They had come up with somewhat of a plan to help Katie fill the need in her heart to have a complete family.

They found Henry sitting in the living room and Elizabeth smiled at him, "Where are the kids?" She asked, sitting in the chair across from him.

"Stevie is talking to some guy from school in her room, Ali is doing homework, and Jason is at his friend's house." He said, eyeing them "Have a good talk?"

They looked at each other and then back at Henry, "Actually Katie has something to ask you." She said, nudging her niece in the side.

"So If this seems weird you can totally say no because it might seem a bit crazy." Katie said, clearing her throat nervously. "I want you and Aunt Bess to adopt me. I know it might sound odd because I'm an adult but it can still happen…I think of you as a father and Aunt Bess as a mother so I thought we could officially make me part of the family. In no way am I replacing my mother because she will always be my mom but I think that this is something she would want."

Henry smiled at her and nodded, "Of course I will adopt you. I would be honored."

"Really?" Katie asked, jumping up to hug him tightly. "Thank you!" She said, keeping her arms around him.

Elizabeth smiled at the scene in front of her and tried to blink back the tears that were forming, "I love you." She mouthed once she made eye contact with him.

 _A/N: So I started writing this chapter a while ago and it came out way different then I had planned. I hope you enjoyed it! I still have one more chapter left for this story then I'll probably start something else. As always review so I know you enjoy reading my stories! Thanks, you guys are the best_

 _P.S. Who else is still reeling from the mid-season finale? How can I wait a whole month for a new episode?_


	8. Chapter 8

_Epilogue_

 _5 years after Katie's story began_

To say that Katie's life had changed significantly since she showed up at the McCord's door was an understatement. She had become a McCord, met her future husband, started working at the white house, had a child, and had another one on the way.

"Did you figure out how you're going to tell Elizabeth you're pregnant?" Blake asked his wife, looking over at her.

"Not exactly. She almost fainted the first time we told her so I'm a little worried." Katie laughed, smiling as they pulled up to the house.

Elizabeth and Henry had retired a year ago and moved back to Virginia, bored out of their minds. As much as they complained about their previous jobs, Katie always knew they would miss it once they left.

Katie got out of the car quickly and went into the back seat, getting her two year old out of his car seat. She placed him on the ground and smiled when she saw him running towards Elizabeth.

"There's my Danny boy!" Elizabeth said excitedly, scooping him up in her arms. "I've missed my little buddy." She said, kissing his cheek.

"You saw him last week." Katie smirked at her. Ever since her aunt and uncle retired, Katie had been visited more often by them. She didn't mind though. She missed them living in D.C.

She passed the toddler to Henry and went over to Blake, hugging him tightly "And there is my other favorite."

"You see she forgets about me every time I bring you two around." Katie laughed, shaking her head.

Elizabeth glared at her niece and went over to hug her, "Be quiet." She said, holding onto her a little tighter than usual. "Are you ok?" She whispered, running a hand over her hair.

Katie nodded and sighed softly, "I will be. How about you?"

Elizabeth pulled back and kissed her forehead quickly, "I'm fine, just worried about you."

It had been 5 years since Katie lost her mom and Elizabeth lost her sister. It had become somewhat of a tradition to have dinner on the day and celebrate her life. It usually ended with Katie and Elizabeth taking a walk, sorting out their emotions about the day.

Katie looked over at Henry and smiled, "Don't think I forgot about you!" She said, walking over to her uncle and hugging him tightly with Danny squished in the middle. "You think that's funny don't you?" She said as the toddler laugher loudly.

They all walked into the house together and Katie ran over to her cousins in the kitchen, she had missed living with all of them the most. They had become the siblings she never had and while they were all still close, it wasn't the same as when they all lived under the same roof.

"I heard someone made the dean's list at my old school…" Katie teased Jason, ruffling his hair.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. You all just doubted my brilliance all along." He remarked back, going to sit on the couch.

Katie shook her head and looked at Stevie, raising her eyebrows at her "We need to talk." She mouthed, hoping her aunt didn't see them. Lucky for her she was busy playing with Danny.

She smiled when Alison stood next to her and ran her hand over her long dark hair, "And you…I can't believe you're going to be 21 soon." She smirked, "Want me to take you out?"

"No way!" Elizabeth called from the other room, bringing Danny back to where everyone else was. "You are never allowed to go out alone with her." Elizabeth teased, kissing Alison's cheek.

Katie feigned shock and placed her hand on her chest, "I've changed Aunt Bess. I am married and have a child now."

"And I saw you last year at the white house Christmas party…that college girl is still in there." Elizabeth said, tapping Katie's nose.

"She's right." Blake said, wrapping his arm around Katie.

"Not funny." She glared at him, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"And that's why he's my favorite." Elizabeth teased, ruffling Blake's hair.

* * *

After dinner Katie pulled Stevie into the office and smiled at her, "I'm pregnant." She whispered, hoping that no one was around to hear them.

"You're what!?" Stevie said loudly, prompting Katie to place her hand over Stevie's mouth.

"You heard me. Now keep it down, no one knows but you and Blake."

"Sorry." Stevie said in a more hushed tone, "Was this planned? You never mentioned another baby."

Katie cleared her throat and shook her head, "I mean we've talked about more kids but we didn't think it would happen this soon. I'm just trying to figure out how to tell Aunt Bess since the last time didn't go so well. I almost gave her a heart attack."

Stevie laughed and nodded at the memory, "Why don't you just tell her when you go on your walk with her later. I'm sure she'll take it better this time."

"Hey guys! I was looking for you two." Elizabeth yelled when she found her niece and daughter.

Katie jumped and looked behind her, "You scared the crap out of me."

"Ready for our walk?" Elizabeth asked, handing Katie her coat.

She nodded and slid it on quickly, following her aunt outside. They walked down the road in silence. Neither of them knowing what to say. This day was always difficult for both of them and brought back a lot of good and bad memories.

"Has this anniversary been the worst for you?" Katie asked, looking over at her aunt. "I'm not sure why but everything just hit me hard today."

Elizabeth sighed and linked her arm with her niece's, "It has been the worst. I thought I would be ok but I woke up crying and I don't think I stopped until about lunch time."

Katie nodded and stopped at a bench, sitting down "I just miss her." She said with watery eyes.

"Me too baby." She said, running her hand over Katie's hair. "She would have been really proud of you."

Katie nodded and wiped a tear that made its way down her face, "She would have been proud of you too."

Elizabeth nodded and swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat, wrapping her arms around her niece. The two woman hugged each other for a while before Katie pulled back and smiled at her, "I have something to tell you."

Elizabeth's face fell and she stared at her niece for a few seconds, "You're not pregnant again are you?"

Katie laughed and nodded, "Actually I am."

Elizabeth smiled widely and hugged her niece again tightly, "I'm so happy for you!" She said excitedly before standing up.

"Come on! We have to go tell the rest of the family." She said, taking Katie's hand and leading her back to the house.

"Well that went better than last time." Katie mumbled to herself.

"I heard that." Elizabeth said, bumping her hip against Katie's.

"Woah, watch the pregnant lady." She teased, resting her head against her aunt's shoulder.

"By the way I don't think I ever said thank you for taking me in when I needed you most. Under the circumstances, it was the best thing that happened to me." She said with a smile.

Elizabeth rested her head against Katie's and nodded, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

 _The End_

 _A/N: I wanted to post a quick chapter to wrap this story up! Thank you to everyone who read it and reviewed. I know I sucked at updating but I am happy that you guys stuck it out! I have started a new story that I think a lot of Bess and Henry fans will like! So be on the lookout for that soon! :)_


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